Be Still and Know

I AM the true vine. “I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener”.  When Jesus said this to his disciples, he was using everyday life as an example to  help illuminate a teaching.  At the time of Jesus, three crops were produced in abundance; wheat, olive oil and grapes.  What Jesus was about to tell his disciples was groundbreaking, in order for the disciples to understand, he used everyday life to aid his disciples understanding.  Jesus knew his days were few, the first 8 verses in John 15 was a keynote address, he reminded the eleven of the essential truths, warned them of what was coming and encouraged them to stay strong in their faith.  Ironically, turning water into wine marked his first miracle, this teaching marked the end. The first five words of this reading; “I am the true vine”, should almost be in capital letters and bold face for their importance.  With these words, Jesus is emphasizing his equality with God.  He is saying thi...

You Are My Witness This week’s reading may sound familiar. Last week we read in John about Jesus’s  first appearance to the disciples, today we turn to the Gospel of Luke to read what the doctor has to say about this same event.  Now at first glance this may seem repetitive.  After all there are nearly four thousand verses in the Gospels, why have back to back weeks with essentially the same reading?   This repetitive reading must point to something of great importance. And it does.  In fact, Luke 24:36b-48, tells us everything we need to know about Jesus.  It is a summary of the key truths of Jesus that  the early Church struggled with.   While John and Luke may have used a traditional earlier account of what happened, these two very similar readings are useful.  They point to an event of great importance in our faith.  Jesus had repeatedly told his disciples of what was to happen to him.  The Gospel passages tell us that prophecy ...

My Lord and My God The disciples were gathered behind locked doors in fear and confusion.  Fear of the Jewish religious authorities and confusion about what had happened.  They had either seen for themselves or had been told that the tomb was empty.  Where is Jesus? Would they all soon see him?  He did say he would rise after three days and now it’s past that.  Where is Jesus? I think all of us at some point in our lives find ourselves behind locked doors.  Often that is accompanied by a feeling of fear and confusion.  The locked doors can be either physical or mental.  We ask ourselves that same question; “Where is Jesus”. The disciples gathered in that room soon had an answer to that question.   “Peace be with you”. In today’s reading Jesus uses this phrase three times.  Why that many?  Imagine if you can the feeling of that locked room.  To say tensions were running high would be an understatement. Upon the arrest of Jesus, ...

On The Road It was all over. The disciples of Jesus had such high hopes. Jesus had showed them a new way of living. He was the Messiah, the one the prophets of time past spoke of. But now he was in a tomb, dead.  I can’t imagine how the disciples and followers of Jesus felt at this point.  Their despair and sadness must have been  overwhelming. All of us have experienced the death of a family member or friend that devastates us. We are lost, bereft, angry. The women walking slowly to Jesus’s tomb certainly felt all those emotions.   They were to prepare his body.  Yet when they arrived at the tomb they found it vacant. Imagine being there with them. The shock of an empty tomb would only compound the intense feeling of sadness.  Then two men appeared “in dazzling apparel” and reminded them of a very important point that Jesus had told them. “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Ga...